Essay on impacts of the 9/11 attacks

Free 800 words essay on impacts of the 9/11 attacks for school and college students.

On 11th September 2004, the world was shaken by the news of two airplanes crashing into the Twin Towers in New York. Live footage of the crashes was telecast across the globe, wakening the world to horrors it had not faced in a long time. Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden assumed responsibility for the attacks, declaring in a taped statement that the attacks on the World Trade Centers and the Pentagon were part of the ongoing Jihad against the United States and its ‘radical hatred of Islam’. This incident, which caused nearly 3000 deaths and 6000 injuries, and millions of dollars loss in infrastructure, started off a chain reaction not just in the United States, but all across the world.

In this article, let us see how the September 1 attacks impacted the world.

President Bush’s war against terrorism

9/11 marked the beginning of a new era in George Bush’s presidency. He declared war on terrorism, promptly invading Afghanistan in order to overthrow the Taliban rule, which was believed to be largely funding the al-Qaeda. Troops were instantly deployed to Afghanistan, a move that was initially applauded but soon began to be intensely criticized, mainly because of its similarities to the Gulf War. Along with support from Britain, USA fought on Afghan soil to curb the powers of the Taliban, causing immense loss in manpower and money. The war was mostly funded on borrowed money, which continued to destabilize the American economy further, and, by extension, the world economy as well.

Sadly, however, Bush’s anti-terrorism campaign actually made hell of what could have been a golden opportunity for USA. Following the 9/11 attacks, the entire world stood in support and sympathy for the stricken nation, including Israel, who the al-Qaeda claimed to be mistreated by USA. There is evidence that even the Taliban were shocked by the unnecessary brutality of the move. President Bush, however, turned the tables around by attacking Afghanistan; the loss of civilian lives in the air raids, the deployment of troops for years on end, and the immense expenditure of taxpayers’ money all made the move lose favour. It was widely understood that the aggressive stance against Islamic countries only proved Laden’s point that the West hates Islam, possibly leading to increased anti-West philosophies.

Following the September 11 attacks, security has been tightened in the United States and many other counties across the world. Airport checking has become even more stringent, and anyone crossing the US border is now checked with even more stringency. Many countries amped up their search for terrorists, including the freezing of bank accounts that were suspected of funding terrorist activities. USA followed, for some time, the protocol of interrogating anyone suspected of terrorist activities or ties with a terrorist organization, using many controversial methods such as waterboarding.

Increase in racial tension

This is perhaps one of the saddest effects of the September 11 attacks. Even a multicultural nation as America saw widespread hatred against people assumed to be of Middle-Eastern origins. There was a spike in hate crimes that is yet to abate, 16 years later. Instances of bullying and assaulting- physically and verbally- of people of supposedly Middle-Eastern origins, became rampant. A fear of Islam was born out of the misinterpretation of Islam as a violent religion. This has caused widespread misunderstanding, leading to harassment of perfectly innocent, often American-born civilians at the hands of fear-driven people.

Economy suffered quite a bit

Following the 9/11 attacks, American and world markets faced quite a bit of a slowdown. This was mainly because from September 11th to September 17th, the American stock Exchange, New York Stock Exchange, and the NASDAQ remained closed. While the remote data processing sites and facilities of the NYSE were not hit by the attack, telephone lines and other modes of virtual communication broke down considerably, and communication between the Member firms, the markets, and the customers became completely impossible. The Dow Jones Index fell a record 684 points, and US stocks lost value worth $1.2 trillion.

Worldwide anti-terrorism stand

Perhaps the only good to come out of the 9/11 attacks was the renewed awareness of what terrorism is capable of, and how imminently it must be stopped. Following the attacks, various nations across the world tightened their internal security, and held out support for America’s zero tolerance for terrorism policy. Most countries began to look out more sharply for militant activities within themselves.

Over a decade has passed since the two United Airlines planes crashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre. Yet, the memory remains fresh, even as new construction stands on the ravaged site. The world was changed on that dark morning, and greater changes are yet to come in its wake.